I wiped away more tears. “Great! Now I can be a born again Christian and run around talkin’ about being saved. How’s that gonna help me live my life today? I’m just looking for a little advice here.”
“Religion is fine, Glori, but it is your relationship with God that is the important thing. All you need to do is open up your heart—you will hear the voice. You will know the right thing to do.”
“Yeah, well why would God care about me after twenty-five years of screwing up? I mean you’re a saint. You can find out stuff God would never tell me.”
Cat laughed at my comment and resumed staring at the sky. At last she spoke. “People find God in so many ways. And most of the time, it is at our darkest hour. There is no one else who can help us. God is always there to help—always. We just need to ask.”
I blew out a breath. “I guess I could try asking. But you know Debbie’s having six kids. Do you know anything about me?”
Cat squeezed my hand. “You will have a beautiful daughter. She will have lovely green eyes like yours.”
It was a feeling even better than the day my first music video debuted. “A—a daughter? Oh my God! That’s fantastic! A little girl! Oh! Will I be—you know—happily married?”
Cat laughed. “Yes, I think so.”
“To—to—Alain?” I barely dared to whisper his name.
Cat’s eyes bored through me. “You need to tell him the truth, Glori—about everything.”
“The truth?” Stunned, I hoped I sounded as though I didn’t know what Cat was referring to.
Cat kept quiet and turmoil filled my mind and body. I rocked back and forth. Cat moved closer and rubbed my arm to comfort me.
“Oh God!” My voice rattled from the depths of the torture I thought I’d neatly wrapped and buried somewhere. “The truth—the truth about the—the money?”
Cat nodded.
“The truth about the money—the pictures?”
Cat nodded sympathetically. “Yes.”
***
I returned to my room and sat by the open window, looking at the trees against the sky. I struggled to focus on the happy news about my future daughter. I decided not to tell anyone. Another secret. I had to smile at my newfound ability to keep secrets. Maybe Cindy’s jokes about a job with General Pearson weren’t so far-fetched.
I thought about my conversation with Cat. Maybe cultivating this talent for hiding things wasn’t the best idea. Maybe it was okay for an aspiring actress, but I knew it pushed me away from Alain, away from the life I really wanted.
The lyrics to Cat’s song, Inspired, flowed through my head. I sang it softly to myself. My heart felt lighter.
***
I helped Debbie into the back seat of the shiny black sport sedan and carefully fastened the seat belt. “Isn’t this just the coolest car you ever saw?” I jumped into the driver’s seat and smiled across at Cindy. Lilting laughter filled the car.
I surveyed the dashboard with all the intensity of my favorite pilot, Captain Pam, about to take off in a jumbo jet. I turned on the ignition and rolled down the driveway. “I just wish we were back in Beverly Hills, and we could cruise around town in this—but no!” I heaved a heavy sigh. “Instead we get to drive the whole quarter mile across the road to the Clemente’s house.”
Debbie chimed in from the back seat. “We can go visit Valentine afterward.”
I rolled my eyes. “Yeah, sure, honey. That’s a lot more fun than drivin’ around Beverly Hills. Let’s go visit a horse.”
Cin laughed some more.
I was nonstop at this point. “The best part of all this is—Alain’s actually letting me drive this thing. Ya know ever since he got that apartment in Salzburg, he’s mostly been coming back home every night anyway. I think he really misses me. He just won’t say anything. And letting me borrow his car while he’s at work—that’s a really big deal.” I dutifully looked both ways before pulling into the road.
We sat down to breakfast on the Clemente’s terrace, even though there was more of a chill in the air these days. Cat had prepared a plate for Debbie, telling her the benefits of each food she selected. Nita arrived with her plate, a strange look on her face.
“What’s wrong?” Cindy asked.
“Oh, we just got word this morning that Amanda James is coming here to interview us again. Joe is arranging tremendous publicity for our new album.”
“And that’s bad?” Cin made a face.
I chuckled. “Doesn’t sound like a problem so far.”
Nita grinned. “Oh! No, that’s not a problem. But of course, she wants to interview us with our ‘secret agents.’ And the General agreed it would be okay. So, of course, Eduardo comes home last night with a big black eye. There’s never a dull moment with him.”
“A black eye?” Everyone spoke at once.
She let out a groan. “Apparently, they are doing some sort of martial arts thing with Alain. I imagine Pearson tells him to kick them into oblivion every once in a while—just to keep them on their toes. Cheers.” She raised her glass of juice.
Debbie almost fell out of her chair. Nita and I grabbed her and set her back in the seat. “David?”
“He’ll be fine, Debbie. He’ll be fine.” Nita sounded like she regretted telling her story in front of Debbie.
Raphael and Doug came through the door. Raphael led Cindy off to show her something at their new house. There were always a million decisions to make, and he was good about including her on everything.
Doug helped himself to some food and summoned Cat and Nita to the studio. “Glori, looks like you have time to finish your breakfast.” They disappeared through the door. That comment from Doug always meant they might need me by late afternoon, or the day after tomorrow.
Debbie turned to me with panic all over her face. “You need to take me to David. Right away!”
“Honey, calm down. He’s gonna be fine.”
Debbie wouldn’t let up. Tears dripped and her body trembled.
My nerves frazzled, I pulled out my phone. “Here honey, we’ll call him, okay?” I dialed the number. “Just voice mail—says he’s unavailable this morning. I’ll try Alain’s number.” I dialed again. “Same message. Damn.”
Debbie clutched her chest, and her breathing was shallow. I rushed to her side.
“Please Glori. Oh please. I just need to see David.” Her voice was tiny, and I could see sweat on her brow. I started to panic.
“Ya know, Debbie, this is Alain’s brand new car. He’ll have my head if I get a scratch on it.”
Debbie used considerable energy to make it to the car. My sense of dread was building. “Honey, I never even drove to Salzburg before. I hardly know where that base is.”
But the lure of the shiny new sport sedan, coupled with Debbie’s breathless appeal, was too much to resist. I was behind the wheel with my hysterical friend strapped in beside me. I sped off toward Salzburg.
After a few wrong turns and fragmented conversations with some locals, I found the base. I pulled up to the gate, and a serious-looking armed guard approached. I forgot every word of German I ever learned.
The soldier did not look happy that I got out of the car. I began a long explanation in English, talking louder with each sentence, hoping he’d get my drift, hoping he’d be impressed with my long legs and flirtatious smile.
But he was getting mad. I explained that Debbie was pregnant, but he didn’t understand—or he didn’t want to understand. Meanwhile Debbie’s crying grew louder, and I knew she was mumbling something about that gross training video we’d seen on TV.
All of a sudden I looked down to find Debbie at the wheel of the car, and she drove off. I jumped a mile and screamed after her.
The guard called out in German and leveled his gun at the sedan.
I yelled, “No!” and lunged at his arm, disrupting his aim. A bullet fired into the air. “She’s pregnant! She’s pregnant!” I shouted as the guards subdued me.
Others raced after the car. It
crashed into the side of a truck. A multitude of soldiers, their weapons drawn, descended on the sedan. I could hear Debbie wailing for David.
***
Alain and General Pearson got to the infirmary first. The doctors directed us into the waiting room, saying she’d be fine. She was just shaken up. Pearson left the room.
By now I knew my mascara was everywhere, and I tried to blot my face as Alain gripped me silently.
Finally he spoke. “Glori, you know you both could have been badly hurt.” I watched him wipe his eyes. I couldn’t believe he didn’t lose his temper.
A flood of new tears ran down my cheeks. “Oh, Alain! I was really stupid. I know. I—I just shouldn’t have listened to Debbie. I thought she was gonna go into labor or something. She was so worked up over you beating up David. And now, well, maybe the baby is hurt anyway.” I broke down sobbing. “And—and your brand new car is wrecked.” I blew my nose.
Alain gripped me to his side. He had nothing more to say.
David
David ran to the infirmary. The General grabbed him by the arm as he came through the door. “She’s okay. They said she’s fine—just shaken up. I have an ambulance ready to take her over to the hospital so Dr. Schechter can check her out.”
David proceeded to the exam room. He braced himself on the doorframe, breathing consciously to remove the emotion coursing through his body. He heard Debbie explaining to the nurse the dangers of martial arts, and Alain Dusseault, in particular. He shook his head and walked in to comfort his wife.
Debbie
David insisted on carrying me to the ambulance. I clung to his shirt, embarrassed to be creating such a scene. The faces of his colleagues lined the hallways.
As we approached the doorway, I noticed smoldering eyes fixed on me—their sinister gaze in contrast to a gorgeous face. In that moment, I focused on the faint smear of lipstick on his cheek and inhaled the lovely scent of Ylang Ylang perfume.
In that moment, I thought I would die.
Chapter Eighteen
David
Debbie sat up in the hospital bed, comfortably propped on the pillow. David kissed her and held her hand. Dr. Schechter approached the opposite side of the bed and took her right hand. She pointed to the monitors. “Debbie, we can see that your heart is beating properly now. And everything is fine. You’re very lucky. Do you understand?”
“Yes, doctor,” Debbie whispered.
Dr. Schechter continued. “Now I know your husband has been so shocked and frightened by what has happened to you that he dare not raise his voice to you. So I will do it for him.”
He squeezed Debbie’s hand and nodded appreciatively to the doctor.
She raised her voice. “I understand your husband has a dangerous job. But he seems to be quite capable of taking care of himself. What you need to do, young lady, is to make very sure you take excellent care of yourself. I suggest you find a less dramatic way to deal with your husband’s job.”
Debbie reacted as a contrite five-year-old. David cradled her in his arms and soothed her with kisses. Dr. Schechter busied herself with her records until Debbie had composed herself.
“I have one more piece of information you’ll be interested in.” Dr. Schechter seemed to make a point of smiling. “We can see on the ultrasound there are three babies. You’re having triplets.”
David felt the wind knocked out of him as he recalled Debbie’s painting of the toddlers in the window seat. They were having three boys.
He took his wife in his arms. His face was wet with their tears.
***
As a precaution, Debbie was kept in the hospital overnight. David stayed with her and accompanied her to her appointments on Wednesday morning. After her group meeting, he sat with her in a small lounge area while she had her regular snack. She poked at her food.
He wondered why she was less than exuberant at the news of triplets. Perhaps because she already knew. And frankly the prospect of giving birth to three boys was frightening to him, so it would be reasonable that Debbie would be scared, too. And of course, she’d need to recover from the shock of that car accident the day before.
“I won’t tell Dr. Raich about my painting, David. You don’t have to worry,” Debbie said.
“I wasn’t worried, Sweetheart.”
“I can be a good secret agent if I have to be.” Debbie nodded.
Nausea welled up. “What do you mean?”
She looked puzzled. “Just what I said, David.” She stabbed her fork into a poached egg, and the yolk spread around the plate. She encouraged it into a yellow design. Nothing went into her mouth.
He grabbed her into his arms and the fork fell to the floor. “Sweetheart, you’ve got to do the best you can with Dr. Raich. You’ve got to be as healthy as possible to carry these babies to term.”
“I understand, David. I’m doing that. You mustn’t worry.” She nodded again.
She let him kiss her cheek, but then turned away. That old familiar congestion filled his chest.
***
“Agent Lambrecht. It’s Tamara Everett.”
“What can I do for you, Miss Everett?”
She sobbed into the phone. “That man in the photo you showed me—Colonel Johnson—he showed up here demanding money. I’m terrified, Agent Lambrecht, and I need your help. I gave him eight million dollars to get rid of him. I’m trying to get a better security force, but you know my dad had the best bodyguards, and that did him no good, did it?”
Thoughts of Debbie’s bloody boat painting overtook him. That’s not what he needed now. He rubbed his eyes. Trust God. Okay, this was no time for crazy thoughts and flashbacks. Forgiven. He was forgiven. He focused his breath. And he heard Cat predicting the consequences of sin.
“Agent Lambrecht?” Her shaky voice woke him up.
“Yes, Miss Everett. Please tell me step by step what happened.”
“He showed up here, and I received him because I thought he was a friend of Dad’s. They’d play golf sometimes. But, Agent Lambrecht, I think he murdered my best friend, Kendra. And now I’m wondering if he’s responsible for killing Dad. He said he’d never bother me again if I’d give him eight million dollars. It sounded like he planned to go to South America. I’m just so scared.” More sobs. She blew her nose. “Excuse me.”
“Why do you think he murdered Kendra?”
“Well, he said something about having to get rid of her. Something about her knowing too much. Maybe he told Dad something and she overheard it. I don’t know if it was a national security thing, or maybe some criminal thing he was up to. I don’t know. But he—this Colonel Johnson—he’s evil. I bet he had something to do with my father’s murder. I bet he did it.”
“Why would he tell you this now?”
“I don’t know. I think he’s going crazy. He was acting crazy. I never really knew him well before, but he didn’t act crazy like he did this morning. He said I’d be fine as long as I didn’t know too much. And—and if I gave him the money.”
“Did he say where in South America he was going?”
“No. Just that he’d never bother me again. But I don’t believe him. Can you help me?”
“I’m sending some of our agents. They’ll make sure you’re safe. We’ll get to the bottom of this, Miss Everett.”
There was a long sigh on the other end. “I meant to congratulate you and Debbie. Glori told me you’re expecting.”
“Yes. Thank you.”
“Such wonderful news.”
“Yes.”
***
Pearson put his coffee cup on the conference table and sat down. “We’ve got the video of Tamara Everett at her bank. She did withdraw eight million dollars from her account. We have a witness who said there was a man he identified as Johnson driving her Mercedes. He described Miss Everett’s demeanor as serious.”
“And the South America thing, Sir?’ Eduardo asked.
“My only guess is he’s somewhere in Rodriguez territory. We know Sen
ator Everett was aligned with Rodriguez. No doubt Johnson was, too. It’s a logical place to start.”
Glori
Late Thursday afternoon everyone gathered at the Monchsberg Hotel for the interview with Amanda James. We greeted her like an old friend, and Joe took it upon himself to usher her around to everyone.
General Pearson chatted with her at length. He made a point of instructing his men to cooperate with her. David didn’t look thrilled about the whole thing—neither did Debbie for that matter. But they dutifully answered questions about Debbie’s health and pregnancy.
Amanda was as blown away by the news of triplets as everyone in the family was—except Cat, I guess. Always suspicious of the press, David told Alain he didn’t think Amanda would honor her promise to keep the triplet story out of the news. Since it was so early, I thought it was only right that Amanda would sit on that story.
Amanda focused like a laser on Ellen and Paulo to get every detail on the shooting in Carmel. Joe kept intervening to steer the conversation to the group’s new album. Amanda listened to his speeches, then went right back to personal issues.
Amanda learned the newlyweds were happy in married life—and Eduardo’s black eye was not from Nita—just a hazard of the job. She learned they had no immediate plans for kids. She learned about Cat and Cisco’s charitable foundation. She sat with Cindy and Raphael to discuss their upcoming wedding. I gave her an earful about adjusting to life in the mountains of Austria. She even got a comment from Jimmy about Aubrey’s attendance at the wedding and birthday party.
We all had a friendly dinner, and Amanda left for home.
***
Cindy and I sat at the large workbench in Debbie’s studio, collating lists of wedding guests and contact information. I started to chuckle. “David gave Alain a check for a brand new car. And ya know those cars are expensive. They have all that special construction and stuff for secret agents, ya know?”
Fame, Fortune & Secrets (The Redemption Series: Book 2) Page 17
